Compulsively cluttered

[DBoon]

I've been living alone for years. It is deeply ingrained in my behavior to just leave things lying around. I'm not a hoarder and don't leave food around and attract pests or anything, I just leave things in a horrible mess. Inanimate objects all over the floor to the point that I am hopping over boxes, suitcases, shoes, etc. to get from room to room. I usually do nothing until I expect company and perform a massive cleanup that can take up to an hour.

The irony is that I get great "zen" when I do have everything in order. I think that once I cross the door into my own isolated living space I take license to exhibit complete and total laziness. I'm sure that if I read some psychological texts it would postulate that I have some sort of deep-seated issues here...

Anyone else like this? Advice and/or insults?

 

[Thomas]

Well, evidently it's not really a priority for you to have things tidy. IF you really want to change, you'll change, either by increments or in a big binge...although my vote is for the incremental change. But, do you want to change, or do you feel comfort in this nesting behavior?

FWIW, I have co-workers who are like this in creating a nest in their office. It's kinda disturbing.

 

[Rambo]

Maybe Hoss could give you a reference?

 

[Hombre Secreto]

Are you like a recluse? You only go out when you absolutely have to?

I mean do you let people in your home?

 

[Xericx]

kind of the same way. when people come over I clean up but I kind of like random **** on the floor.

I've been throwing stuff away though and it helps.

 

[whiteslashasian]

Originally Posted by Xericx

kind of the same way. when people come over I clean up but I kind of like random **** on the floor.

I've been throwing stuff away though and it helps.

Getting rid of stuff is a huge step. That and finding ways of organizing and storing things well are great ways to combat the clutter. Closet organizers, shelves, drawers, bins etc are all helpful in getting stuff off of floors, tables, beds, sofas etc and make things easy to find later (if you label properly).

 

[Xericx]

the thing is i'm pretty neat and organized at work. home is where i can just let chaos happen.

honestly the main problem is I buy too much stuff. I should have 1/4 of the possesions I have.

 

[Harold falcon]

I make a mess at home, but I always make sure to take one day per month (usually the first Sunday) to stay home and clean it all up.

 

[tagutcow]

Originally Posted by DBoon

I've been living alone for years. It is deeply ingrained in my behavior to just leave things lying around. I'm not a hoarder and don't leave food around and attract pests or anything, I just leave things in a horrible mess. Inanimate objects all over the floor to the point that I am hopping over boxes, suitcases, shoes, etc. to get from room to room. I usually do nothing until I expect company and perform a massive cleanup that can take up to an hour.

The irony is that I get great "zen" when I do have everything in order. I think that once I cross the door into my own isolated living space I take license to exhibit complete and total laziness. I'm sure that if I read some psychological texts it would postulate that I have some sort of deep-seated issues here...

Anyone else like this? Advice and/or insults?

You're probably not as bad as I am:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=216886

(I'm making great progress though. I'll post follow-up photos soon.)

My problem is figuring out how to organize things, figuring out what belongs with what. Also, instead of just cleaning up every six months or so as a remedial measure, it helps to organize your entire space so that putting things away becomes a habit.

 

[robertorex]

I have exactly the same problem. The only room I keep clean is my kitchen, but I pretty much do nothing unless someone is coming over.

 

[jdm_mboy]

Don't let it get to the point of hoarders, that's all i have to say

 

[eztantz]

Orderly chaos - that's the name of my game.

I don't think it constitutes hoarding if things just accumulate due to laziness, when you refuse to part with items when they serve no function or have no value, that's a bit different. My crap is lying around because I don't wanna be bothered with it not cause I actually care about it and think I need it. If someone would throw all my crap out it would help although I would probably lose something important and be pissed.

 

[otc]

I have the same problem...but I am working on it.

I let **** get cluttered and/or I don't have proper storage for everything. As it stands, I don't care much about my bedroom (I am alone in a 1BR and basically only go in there to sleep so the clutter doesn't bother me) but am working on the others.

The kitchen is usually the best as I prefer to have it ready to use. This means having enough clear counter space to start cooking.

The living/dining area is not so great...this is where things like incoming mail, stuff I have brought home from work and shoes land. Some of this may be helped by additional furniture (e.g. my media equipment is basically all exposed and looks pretty cluttered even when I have cleaned since I don't have a real tv stand/media cabinet). Other bits are just lack of organization/laziness.

I wish I could hire the inverse of a maid service--someone to come by every week or two and put all of my **** where it belongs instead of ignoring the clutter but scrubbing the toilet. Aside from the clutter, my actual **** is pretty clean. I vacuum more than once a week, my bathroom is sparkling, and I clean the kitchen to the point of polishing the stainless...I guess it just bothers me more when you run your hand across a countertop and feel specs of grit than it does to have some random **** sitting on top of a clean counter.

I have friends who keep it pretty clutter free but have some disgusting ass bathrooms and stuff (like carpets that have not been vacuumed in ages) but everyone thinks of them as being "cleaner" so I am forcing my self to cut the clutter down.

 

[660]

I am a bit like this too, and for me there has only been one solution that has worked in the long run and that is having a twice a week cleaning service around the house. Strangely enough this has also helped me with keeping the place tidier between the cleaning days as you don't want to mess up the nice zen feeling of a uncluttered home you got.

Also as mentioned before, getting rid of stuff and not having as much things makes it a lot easier.

 

[otc]

I suppose a cleaning service that didn't explicitly remove clutter might still be a good motivator to keep it clean (at least to de-clutter right before they come).

It is too bad that I usually am cool with cleaning--vacuuming is fun and its nice to put on some music and get some meditative shower scrubbing time in....maybe I just have to make myself think of decluttering the same way.